Cldn1 - claudin 1

This gene encodes a member of the claudin family. Claudins are integral membrane proteins and components of tight junction strands. Tight junction strands serve as a physical barrier to prevent solutes and water from passing freely through the paracellular space between epithelial or endothelial cell sheets, and also play critical roles in maintaining cell polarity and signal transductions. The knockout mice lacking this gene die soon after birth as a consequence of dehydration from trandermal water loss, indicating that this gene is indispensable for creating and maintaining the epidermal barrier. The protein encoded by this gene also has gastric tumor suppressive activity, and is a key factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2010]